1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to Printed Circuit Board (PCB) devices and more specifically relates to systems and devices for mounting a Solid State Drive (SSD) onto a PCB device.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In the field of electronics, a cost effective method of mass producing circuits includes printing the circuits onto a nonconductive board. The board itself helps to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components of the circuit. The most common material for use in such boards is FR-4, which is made of woven glass and epoxy components. Because Printed Circuit Board (PCB) devices are typically intended for use within a larger system, PCB devices often include a number of adapters, connectors, and other features for integration with various electronic systems and hardware. For example, a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI-E) device may be crafted out of PCB into a “card” that may be inserted into an expansion slot of a motherboard or bus of a computer. A PCB device may also be referred to as a Printed Circuit Assembly (PCA) or a Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) device. PCB devices typically utilize storage devices such as disk drives, optical media, Solid State Drives (SSDs), and others in order to engage in day-to-day operations.
In the field of storage systems, storage controllers and other electronics are often implemented as PCB devices. These PCB devices include multiple electronic connectors (e.g., SAS or SATA connectors) that are used to communicably couple the PCB device with other components of the storage system. An example of such a component is an SSD of the storage system. When an SSD is to be physically mounted at a PCB device, the SSD may be placed into an enclosure, and then the enclosure itself may be screwed, glued, or soldered into place on the PCB itself. The SSD is aligned within the enclosure so that it can be physically coupled with one of the electronic connectors for the PCB device.
Unfortunately, storage systems and other electronic systems are often subject to changing demands from a customer. The demands may change as the customer's use of the electronic system increases, decreases, or otherwise changes over time. Thus, it is generally desirable to allow field engineers to change the configuration of a PCB device in order to match the present demands of a customer. An example of a changed configuration could include altering the nature and number of components connected to the PCB device via its electronic connectors. For example, a field engineer may desire to increase or decrease the number and/or capacity of SSDs attached to the device. Where SSDs are coupled with the PCB by glue, screws, etc., it remains a problem for a field engineer to easily reconfigure the system.
Thus it is an ongoing challenge to provide enclosures for SSDs that allow a field engineer to alter the configuration of a PCB device.